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Admissions

A collection of articles from the Carolina Alumni Review. Also included in the Review’s annual admissions coverage are statistics on each year’s entering class.

Profile of the 4,688 first-year students entering UNC, fall 2021
A by-the-numbers breakdown
March/April 2022

Profile of the 4,444 first-year students entering UNC, fall 2020
A by-the-numbers breakdown
March/April 2021

Profile of the 4,182 first-year students entering UNC, fall 2019
A by-the-numbers breakdown
March/April 2020

MJ2017_front_coverA Door STILL Wide Open
Carolina’s new director of Scholarships and Student Aid talks about maintaining the commitment to meeting “100 percent of need.”
March/April 2017

MJ2016_front_coverWhere Tar Heels Are Born and Bred
Commentary about the out-of-state admissions cap and how it evolved over the years, from the “Yours at Carolina” column by Doug Dibbert ’70.
May/June 2016.

CAR-MA16-coverThe Missionary
Over her 18 years at Carolina, Shirley Ort has become the best in the business at finding ways for students from low-income families to get into the University, stay in and thrive.
March/April 2016

cover imageAdmissions-Induced Anxiety? Seeking a Saner Path
Does the school name on our diplomas determine who we are? Not according to New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Bruni ’86: “Your diploma is, or should be, the least of what defines you.”
March/April 2015

cover imageIt’s Not Where You’re From But What You’ve Done
An enduring myth about admissions can leave you feeling like the deck’s stacked against you, no matter where you’re from. The facts don’t support it.
March/April 2014

cover imageThe 100 Percent Promise
If you qualify for need-based financial aid, UNC has your back. It’s an extraordinary commitment that is becoming a bigger challenge to maintain.
March/April 2013

cover imageFamily Matters
I got in UNC, your dad got in, and your grandparents and an aunt and two uncles are alumni, too. Work hard, and try to forget that what all of us did might not help turn you Carolina blue.
March/April 2012

cover imageThe Other High School Counselors
Lack of support at home is strike one when you’re trying to get to college. Carolina has sent young alumni out to help. Also included in the Review’s annual admissions coverage: Statistics on this year’s freshman class.
March/April 2011

car_2011_03_march-aprilCarolina Admissions – and Creating a Legacy
Commentary about how UNC considers children of alumni when it comes to admissions, from the “Yours at Carolina” column by Doug Dibbert ’70.
March/April 2011

cover imageCaps and Cutoffs and Quotas
Not everything you hear, and hear, and hear about getting into Carolina is true. We explore admissions myths.
March/April 2010

cover imageNever Lonely at the Top
Everybody remembers how exciting it was to get in UNC. But when Princeton and Stanford are in the battle for your brain, the home-state school needs some good reasons why you’re better off going to college close by – for your good and for Carolina’s.
March/April 2009

cover imageWhat’s 2,700 Students Give or Take a Few?
Carolina takes a hard look at accommodating a population growth of nearly 17 percent over the next 10 years.
November/December 2008

cover imageApply Yourself
Carolina extends its reach to students whose families can’t help much with the push toward college or the intricacies of the admissions process because they haven’t been there.
March/April 2008

cover imageWorth the Wait 
One-fifth of the new students at UNC last fall were not freshmen.  They might have been turned down the first time they applied – but just as likely, transfers weren’t focused on college, couldn’t afford it or didn’t think Carolina was right for them when they left high school.
March/April 2007

cover imageAn Unbinding Agreement
Where there is a will inspired by a scholarship director’s own experience, there is a way to open the University to more students by making money less of an issue. The Carolina Covenant is being watched nationwide.
March/April 2006

cover imageThe Standouts
A batch of Carolina blue Rice Krispies Treats? It’s been done. The things you can do to get noticed in the admissions office are all about achievement and future promise. The process is rich with myths.
March/April 2005

cover imageCap in the Air
Is UNC too provincial? Would it turn its back on a promise to North Carolinians? The question of limits on nonresident admissions draws a wide range of emotional opinions.
March/April 2004

cover imageA Fair Price
The student’s cost of a Carolina education, once mandated to be as nearly free as possible, has risen sharply in recent years. How much tuition should weigh in the revenue mix is a subject in intense debate.
March/April 2003

cover imageThe 18 Percent Rule
The cap on out-of-state admissions is popular across the state, but faculty and others on the campus think it could be a hindrance.
March/April 2002

cover imageIn Search of a Spark
With 17,500 applicants, the admissions form is bound to be short-answer, right? Think again – the desire to know students better is putting increasing emphasis on the entrance essay.
March/April 2001

cover imageOne and Only
A binding early decision gets the college application process over sooner and gives the University a competitve advantage many of its peers already had.
March/April 2000

cover imageGetting Choosy
The Admissions Office believes a university’s quest for a top ranking starts with the raw materials. UNC no longer waits for the best students to come to us.
March/April 1999

cover imageWho’s Picking Up the Tab?
UNC’s changing smorgasbord of scholarship and student aid. What makes UNC such a bargain?
March/April 1998

car_1997_03_march-aprilTough Ticket
Being qualified is no longer enough to breeze you through the Carolina admissions office. Today you’ve got to be competitive.
March/April 1997

cover imageMay I Please Have This Dance?
As Carolina becomes more attractive, competition at the admissions office gets stiffer.  Chocolate chip cookies won’t help.
March/April 1996

car_1997_03_march-aprilAttending to the Future
Commentary from the “Yours at Carolina” column by Doug Dibbert ’70.
March/April 1997